Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Shakespeare question

No, not this one, and not that one either.

A question of the kind that sticks in your head forever, for no apparent reason. Sticky like, for example, the benzene ring you first came across when you read a five volume encyclopedia of technology from cover 1 to cover 5 at age 14. Decades later, it is still there.

The question was: if a writer of Shakespeare's class was writing today, could he or she remain unnoticed, obscure forever in this world teeming with authors and works?

And, being an ever so critical and observant thinker, the answer to me was yes.

I changed my mind.

Because of the news blip about Shakespeare being a shrewd businessman, tax evader and so forth. If our modern day Shakespeare 2.0 shared personality traits with the master, the works of 2.0 would not remain obscure. 2.0 would make sure the world would be enriched by his genius. Basically, a big genius comes with a big ego.

This new answer is free from the old image of the solitary writer, the nothing comes between me and my paper kind of person that the old teachers were happy to hang on to.

The change of mind happened less than a week ago and still has the "new idea smell" about it, but as it starts to wear off, that trashy, comfortable, worn familiarity of a new belief turned firm old belief is welcoming me.

I'm on the way.

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